AHMEDABAD: During a show in Vadodara in 2019, Pyarelal Sharma of the legendary music composer duo Laxmikant-Pyarelal, slipped into nostalgia recalling the fond attachment of his family to the 'cultural capital of Gujarat'.
Few know that the ace violinist and a master music arranger, who turned 82 on Saturday, has a special bond with Vadodara, despite Mumbai, the 'Land of Dreams', becoming his karmabhoomi and catapulting him to success along with his partner, Laxmikant Kudalkar.
The attachment to the Banyan City is rooted in his father, Pandit Ramprasad Sharma, who taught music gratis to poor children in the city despite his own dire financial condition. He shaped the careers of over 2,000 musicians after he migrated to Vadodara from their native Gorakhpur, UP, and stayed for nearly six years.
Pyareji's father got to know about the thriving music culture of Vadodara through distant relatives staying here.
"He (Pt Ramprasad) started searching for work to make two ends meet, but he was very interested in music. A few of his relatives were working in shops and hotels," said Pyarelal, adding that his father played trumpet in the troupe of then-renowned police bandmaster, Babulalji, in Vadodara.
"My father was just like Babulalji master's son. He constantly encouraged my father to learn music in detail, something he did follow and under his guidance ultimately went on to become the bandmaster of the troupe," Pyarelal recalled while talking to TOI.
But Pt Ramprasad's shifting to Vadodara was a fall-out of a family tragedy. After his father died, his mother got so traumatized that she climbed up a tree and fell down dead.
Pyareji says he owes a lot to Vadodara as it helped his father learn the nuances of music better, which ultimately brought him out of poverty.
"My father learnt writing music notations from Babulalji. He got the best training in music in Vadodara," says Pyarelal. There were five boys and three girls learning under Babulalji's tutelage, but Pt Ramprasad was the fastest and accurate learner.
"Thanks to his experience and learning in the Vadodara band, my father started getting invitations to play in other bands and started earning good money. From Vadodara, he went to Karachi for three years," he recalled.
Pyarelal and his brothers often visited Vadodara to meet the family members of Babulalji. "I have a special bonding with this city. After all, it was here that my father learnt music which we inherited from him," said the composer, whose zest for travel is still that of a young backpacker.
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